1. Field of the Inventions
This application is directed to a hinge that, when applied to an umbrella, can allow movement of an umbrella canopy extended from a support member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Umbrellas have been developed to provide shelter from the elements and are particularly useful in outdoor seating areas such as a backyard patio. Often, an umbrella has a support pole and a canopy positioned at the top of the pole for providing shade. Basic umbrellas have the support pole centrally located directly beneath the canopy. This construction has several disadvantages. For example, the pole is located at the most sheltered position under the canopy. Also, the pole obstructs the view of persons seated beneath the canopy. Some umbrella designs locate the support pole to the side of the canopy, generally suspending the canopy from above. A disadvantage of these designs is that they take up more space than umbrellas supported from below. A few umbrella designs support a canopy from above and are retractable to reduce the amount of space that they require.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,442 (“the '442 patent”) (which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) describes an umbrella that includes support rods, struts, canopy fabric supported by the struts, and a crank handle. The canopy can be deployed using the crank handle, which can be located at a lower portion of the support rods. As discussed in the '442 patent, the umbrella can thus alternate between various positions to control the location of the shelter provided and to reduce the amount of space required during storage.
Another example of the background art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,156 (“the '156 patent”). In the '156 patent a hinge is held in position by an anchor that can be wound through a pulley into an anchor room. In the design of the umbrella discussed in the '156 patent, the hinge includes an elbow and a suspension member rotatably coupled to and positioned beneath the elbow. The '156 patent describes the hinge as being secured by virtue of the anchor spanning both the elbow and the suspension member when in the anchor room. When the anchor is withdrawn from this position within the anchor room, the elbow and suspension member are described as being able to rotate relative to each other.